New state standards place emphasis on learning by all students

Oct. 11, 2013

Student holding chalk in classroom, portrait / Getty Images

Many schools across Ohio this year learned they werenít as ďexcellentĒ as previously thought.

In releasing its first round of A-F school report cards earlier this year, the Ohio Department of Education showed that all Ohio schools have some areas to improve.

Under the former report card system, 60 percent of Ohio schools were rated excellent or excellent with distinction, although one out of five students wasnít graduating in four years and 40 percent of students needed remedial classes in college.

The new grades were meant to be more understandable for parents, but still arenít completely intuitive. Here is a look at how the state calculates your schoolís grades.

Indicators met

Definition: How many of a districtís students passed state tests.

How itís calcluated: There are 24 state tests used ranging from third grade to high school. In 2012-13, at least 75 percent of a districtís students must score proficient or better for a district to receive a passing grade for that test. The standard rises to 80 percent for 2013-14 ó higher passing scores are required for 11th-grade tests. The percent of indicators passed by a district results in its grade based on this scale:

Percent

Grade

Percent

Grade

90-100

A

50-69.9

D

80-89.9

B

Less than 50

F

70-79.9

C

Performance index

Definition: How well a districtís students did on the state tests. This differs from indicators met because schools are rewarded for students who exceed proficiency standards and dinged for students who fall below the mark or miss the test entirely.

How itís calculated: Studentsí scores are weighted based on the scale below. Students who donít take the test are given a 0.

Proficiency

Weight

Proficiency

Weight

Advanced plus

1.3

Proficient

1.0

Advanced

1.2

Basic

0.6

Accelerated

1.1

Limited

0.3

The percent of a districtís students who score in each category is multiplied by the score weight and totaled for a final score with grades based on the same scale as Indicators Met. All students scoring proficient would mean a score of 100, or A, based on 100 percent times 1.0.

The scores necessary to achieve advanced, proficient or other results vary by test, year and grade, but can be found online at http://goo.gl/xFCnCs. For example, a third grader in 2012-13 needed to get 30 of 52 math questions to score proficient and 46 of 52 to score advanced.

Gap closing

Definition: How well all students in a district are succeeding, regardless of income, race, culture or disability. This metric looks at graduation rates and student performance across 10 different groups: all students, American Indian/Alaskan Native students, Asian/Pacific Islander students, black non-Hispanic students, Hispanic students, multi-racial students, white non-Hispanic students, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency.

How itís calculated: This measure uses reading and math scores from tests taken in third through eighth grade and the 10th-grade Ohio Graduation Test. Only scores from groups with 30 or more students are counted.

Districts calculate scores by determining how each group fared against a statewide benchmark. For example, 83.4 percent of students from each group were to pass the reading exam. The difference between a groupís performance and the standard is called the gap. Schools get full points for a group if it meets the benchmark or its gap is cut by more than half in a year. Smaller gap reductions receive proportional points.

Group scores are averaged to give the districtís final score, following the same A-F scale as indicators met. District grades can fall if less than 70 percent of any groups pass the tests or graduate on time. Districts also can lose points for poor attendance or students missing the tests.

Progress

Definition: How much certain students are improving in school. This metric provides a grade for all students, gifted students, students with disabilities and a districtís lowest-achieving students.

How itís calculated: This measure uses math and reading test scores for students in grades four through eight to determine their growth as compared to the expected growth from 2010. A score of 0 essentially means a student grew as much as expected, and would earn a district a C. Growth of more than 2 is an A, 1-2 is a B; -1 to -2 is a D and less than -2 is an F.

The gifted score uses math scores for students identified as gifted in math, reading scores for students gifted in reading and both scores for students identified as being superior cognitive gifted. According to the stateís contractor, SAS EVAAS, the metric ďfollows the progress of individual students over time, regardless of their achievement level, to ensure that all students count.Ē

Graduation rate

Definition: How many students who entered the ninth grade graduated in four or five years.

How itís calculated: The state calculates what percent of incoming freshmen graduate in four or five years. For example, the past four-year rate was based on students who entered the ninth grade in 2009 and graduated by 2012. The five-year rate was based on students who entered the ninth grade in 2008 and graduated by 2012.